C7 Qo'NoS (Kronos) Class
Designed to counter the Federation Constitution Class Refit, the Qo'NoS Class is a true "Cruiser Killer", superior to the smaller but more numerous D7C qItI'tinga' (Great Powerful Conqueror) Class in almost every respect. Her most famous role however was that as Qo'NoS Wa' (Kronos One), the designation of the Chancellors starship. Her use in this role was somewhat deceptive; designed to keep more powerful Klingon designs away from prying eyes whilst still being a vessel capable of overpowering most foes. Development The original D7 qItI'tinga' (Great Powerful Conqueror) Class was designed as a replacement for the ageing D6A Kl'ar (Leader) Class. The Kl'ar had already proven to be increasingly obsolescent by the late 2230s and a larger, more capable Cruiser was required. Essentially a scaled up and "fleshed out" D6A, the D7 out performed her smaller progenitor in every way. She was faster, more heavily armed, more heavily armoured and shielded and possessed the latest in sensor technology available to the Klingon Empire at that time. Given her basis on a proven design, the introduction of the D7 proceeded quickly beginning in 2242. Production was accelerated, as were withdrawals of the D6A, following the disastrous incursions into Federation space in 2244, 2246 and most seriously in 2248 at the Battle of Bernard. Complete replacement had occurred by 2250, with 2/3rds of the D6A's in service being transferred to the Romulan Star Empire and the remainder being converted for specialised duties. In 2255, after the acquisition of Cloaking Technology from the Romulans, the qItI'tinga' received her first refit, becoming the D7A. Captains were ordered to only engage or disengage the Cloaking Device when outside of Federation sensor range, so as to keep the device a secret from Starfleet Intelligence. This directive was followed successfully for many years, and Federation analysts were unaware of the usage of Cloaking Devices by the Klingon Empire until the beginning of the 2270s. Further refinement to the qItI'tinga' design came in 2264 with the fitting of Heavy Disruptors in place of one pair of standard Disruptors. This gave the resulting D7B considerable forward firepower, able to go toe-to-toe with the Federation Constitution Class. The many stand-offs of the 2260s between the Klingon Defence Force and Starfleet nearly always involved these two classes, although even in the 4-Day War of 2266 they never truly faced off against each other, one or the other withdrawing before a killing blow could be dealt. In 2270, the qItI'tinga' was refit into her current, D7C form. This involved a considerable overhaul of all internal and external systems. Construction of new vessels was also authorised to replace losses in the 2260s and to bolster the strength of the KDF. The new refit was also explicitly designed to be more powerful than the Federation Constitution Class, although little did the designers know that she herself was being refit into a more powerful form at that same time. When this new Constitution Class Refit was first encountered in the early 2270s, the natural response was to design an even bigger Cruiser to overcome her, as the qItI'tinga' had the original Constitution Class. At the same time, the highly flawed C8 Ber'Taa (Bird of Blood) Class was becoming a liability to the KDF and whilst the new C9 Puw'Leth (Sawblade) Class Battleship had entered service as a partial replacement, there remained a considerable tactical gap between her and the qItI'tinga' that needed to be filled. Rather than rely on massed Photon Torpedo armament as the failed Ber'Taa had, the new "Cruiser Killer" would keep the modest design planform of the smaller qItI'tinga' and use an enhanced Primary and Heavy Weapons array to provide adequate firepower, which along with stronger shields, gave her the required performance boost. whilst also kepping costs and construction times low. Such compromises are inevitably either resounding successes or abject failures, and fortunately for the beleaguered Klingon Defence Force in the mid-2270s, the new Qo'NoS Class, named after the Klingon Homeworld, proved a resounding success. The prototype was launched in 2276, with production commencing shortly after. Operational History The Qo'NoS was launched at a time of relative peace in the Empire, and so whilst this meant she did not see heavy combat for more than 10 years, it did allow the few niggling faults in her design to be ironed out before any painful failures in combat, giving the KDF a reliable, powerful command ship capable of overwhelming any enemy Cruiser she encountered. Her first combat experience came two years after the launch of the prototype, although this was a minor campaign quelling a series of minor rebellions on subjugated mining worlds, and so was barely an adequate test of her capabilities. True first blood came with the outbreak of the Organian Conflict. Here she proved superior to all Federation types encountered, even the vaunted Constitution Class Refit. Her only difficulty came with encountering the handful of new Excelsior Class Battlecruisers. As the war progressed, she was gradually outclassed and became more of a leader vessel, an adhoc Command Cruiser, for qItI'tinga' Squadrons, with her Battlecruiser role taken over by the more powerful C8B VoD'leH (Emperor) Class. It was during this time that a Qo'NoS Class ship was first designated as Qo'NoS Wa' (Kronos One), the designation of the Chancellors starship. Initially the actual name of the ship remained unchanged (with the intention being that any Qo'NoS Class ship could be used as Qo'NoS Wa'). Eventually, a dedicated vessel was assigned, fittingly the refurbished prototype, being christened IKS Qo'NoS Wa'. In the subsequent War of Pacification, the Qo'NoS proved less vulnerable than the smaller qItI'tinga' but too few in number to entirely replace her. She was largely kept as a command ship for Sector Commanders (usually Brigadier rank) and saw little fighting. This privileged position remained during the Ormong of 2291, with Qo'NoS Class warships engaging in combat, on one occasion fighting each other, but with none being lost. Her highest combat losses came during the General War of 2292, mostly down to the fanatical leadership (and poor generalship) of Melkor. Apocrypha The most famous (or perhaps infamous) event involving the Qo'NoS Class was the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon during the Praxis Incident of 2293. It was perhaps a consideration of the firepower of the IKS Qo'NoS Wa' that lead to the unprecedented surrender of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) during the incident, as well as Captain James T. Kirk's desire not to start another full scale war. It was also the IKS Qo'Nos Wa' that brought the new Chancellor, Azetbur, daughter of the late Gorkon, to the historic peace conference on Khitomer III which lead to the signing of the Khitomer Accords, bringing to an end 80 years of unremitting hostility between the Empire and the Federation. After the Accords and the ecological crisis caused by the explosion of Praxis (and the accordant loss of the Empire's main source of dilithium), starship production was scaled back considerably. Construction of Qo'NoS Class vessels continued, mainly to replace losses in the General War, until the 2310s. Qo'NoS Class ships remained in service until the 2350s however, until finally retired in favour of the newest designed based on the venerable qItI'tinga', the D12 Koloth Class. Specifications * Class: 'Battlecruiser * 'Hull Type Designation: '''KBC * '''Length: 349m * Crew: 380 * Warp Nacelles: '''2 * '''Maximum Sublight Speed: 3300 k/s (33 Mk/s) * Cruise Warp Factor Speed: wf 7.8 * Safe Maximum Warp Factor Speed: wf 9.1 * Hull Rating: '280 HSF * 'Shield Rating: 490 FSP * Sensor Rating: 600 SRU * Armament and Equipment: ** Primary *** 4 × Disruptor Cannon ** Secondary *** 1 × Photon Torpedo Tube ** Heavy *** 2 × Heavy Disruptor Cannon ** Advanced *** None ** Equipment *** Tractor Beam Emitter *** Klingon-Type Cloaking Device *** Probes *** 1 × D'ktagh (Dagger) Shuttle Ships in Service (2292) IKS Qo'Nos Wa' IKS JorwI'Hegh IKS May'morgh IKS SIH'chor IKS JaqHom IKS DaSpu'Dal IKS Yab'loD IKS Qogh'a'Huy IKS 'TlhuH IKS QueloDmI' IKS Chen'a'meQ IKS 'Ach loDnI' IKS Waq'bach IKS Qigh'yoD IKS Dop'puS IKS Qit'ong IKS Vum'ghargh IKS PIvghor IKS Bej'joq IKS MaHmuSSoH IKS Hurgh'a' Category:Klingon Vessels Category:Cruisers Category:Battlecruisers